


Just strolling through Burma with my friends

by NegativNein



Series: Until the End of the World [6]
Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Revenge, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-02 17:17:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11513883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NegativNein/pseuds/NegativNein
Summary: Or, Batman & Alfred v The Ex-Vengers.





	Just strolling through Burma with my friends

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is the end. I'm not sure it'll be everything you're hoping for, but I've decided not to sit on it any longer. Enjoy!

The Avengers, buoyed by Steve's never-ending confidence, followed their leader towards the transport area.

Scott however looked slightly dubious: "Guys? Is it really safe to hijack a cargo plane? Isn't this a military base? Won't they shoot us down in two seconds flat if we steal one of their planes?"

"They'd never shoot down Captain America, come on!"

"Well, if you're sure, I guess..."

"No need to steal anything, gentlemen." a new voice rang out.

Scott and Sam turned with curiosity towards the man in a suit, while the others positively froze: "Coulson!"

 

*

 

"I don't know what to do, Alfred. He's healed and safe as he can be, and I still think it's not enough. There needs to be a reckoning - or it'll all go back as before, with the Avengers and their shady backers and their leverage and their guilt-tripping."

"I completely agree, Master Bruce."

"But how? They're not going to be scared by a guy in bat wings, much as it pains me to admit it."

"Are they not, now?"

"You've been plotting something, Alfred?"

"I might have reflected on the nature of fear and remembered some chemical compounds we are somewhat familiar with."

"Nothing gets past you, Alfred! Thank you!"

"I'll admit that this time I did not think of you, Master Wayne. I have always been fond of young Master Stark." 

"So what's the plan, Alfred? Do I need the suit?"

Alfred smiled: _"Vexilla regis prodeunt inferni."_

Bruce froze in understanding. It was perfect. Hell, it was divine. "You're a cruel man, Alfred. I assume everything is in place?"

"Indeed, sir. I took the liberty of making a few calls."

 

*

 

"So we're not going to put the Avengers back together?"

"I would advise against it, Captain, at least at this particular juncture. But do tell, what were you planning to do?"

"Well, first I wanted go get Wanda back from that mutant school. She doesn't know anyone there, she must be unhappy. She needs to be with her team: we know what she went through."

"I see. Xavier might be persuaded to let her go, after all he's an intelligent man. After that?"

"Well, Bucky still at Pym's right? So he's safe there, Stark cannot get to him, Pym will see to that. No need to compromise Pym or reveal Bucky's location."

"I do agree with you there, Captain. Excellent thinking."

"Thank you, Coulson! It's good to have you back, you know? If you have more cards I'll be happy to sign them, of course. Don't be embarrassed, ask anytime"

"I'm afraid I will always carry a measure of shame for how I acted back then, Captain. Please, let's hear the rest of your plan."

"Well, the last step is really the most important: we need the BARF technology for Bucky! So with Wanda's help we'll make sure Tony gives it to us - and we'll also get him away from that silly Justice League, he's an Avenger first and foremost, even if he was wrong about the Accords. I would not leave a teammate behind, you know? He needs to be back with us... and he also needs to break up with that Gotham fiancé, an Avenger clearly must put the team first, right?"

 

*

 

"Dad, are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure, Hope. Howard Stark has been my archenemy for a lifetime. This hatred has given me purpose, pushed me to new heights. I can't just let it go."

 

*

 

Tony was standing upright, and breathing freely, and in Bruce's bedroom. Enough to give a man _thoughts_ , really.

"Tony, what do you think of a City Hall wedding?"

"Are we still on? I thought, what with the victory and everything..."

"Of course we're still on. I mean... if you'd have me. Still. What with the victory and everything..."

"Brucie, Brucie, light of my life, of course I'd have you! I love you!"

"I love you too"

"Fuck me, you did say it. You did. No take backs."

"No take backs, Tony, I promise. Not ever."

"So yes, City Hall wedding, ASAP. When?"

"Well, I'd hate to leave for patrol right before the honeymoon, so what do you think of tomorrow at dawn?"

"Is City Hall open at dawn? Is it a Gotham thing?"

"I'll call in a favour... and that still counts as a Gotham thing, I guess."

 

*

 

"About that last part, Captain... I'm not sure that's exactly feasible."

"What do you mean, Coulson? It's a simple in and out."

"Well, you see, the intelligence community has a saying. It's so important it's known as _Rule One_."

"And what's this _Rule One_ , then?"

"Romanov, if you would?"

"Rule One: _stay out of Gotham._ "

 

*

 

"Professor, are you sure this is the right thing to do?"

"I did not do it lightly, Jean, but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

 

*

 

"Now, let's put this problem aside, Captain, and try to address the issues of your current team. I guess some of you might have a few questions. Mr Barton?"

"Sir, do you know what happened to my family?"

"Laura initiated protocol _Full Laundry_. There is a place for you, but this time you really cannot come back. It'll be an instant bullet to the head if you even think about coming back into the field."

"I understand, Sir. I'll take it. - Cap, I'm sorry, but I need to get back to my family."

"I'm disappointed, Clint. But of course you need to do what you think is right, I'll never resent you for your choice. Family is important, after all."

Lang interrupted: "Uh, Coulson, sir, do you know anything about my family? My daughter?"

"Mr Lang, your situation is a bit more complex: your pardon covers your previous sentence, so you're free to go home. However, you'll still have a criminal record and I guess no references, since it's well known you stole equipment from your employer, Pym Technologies."

"I'll take it. A lifetime of crappy, underpaid jobs is worth the freedom of seeing my daughter grow up. - Sorry Cap, I also need to be with my family."

"I understand, Scott. I'll always appreciate you risking everything to come to my aid when I needed help."

"Mr Wilson, you also have the option to go back without facing anything worse than a dishonourable discharge and the loss of your job at the VA. You understand of course that the Army cannot allow you to continue working with veterans after everything. But you can go home."

"I'll take it. - Sorry, Cap, but I really want to go home. Best of luck with Bucky and everything, man!"

"Sam, but I thought... well, I'm disappointed in you. You're being very selfish. But I guess I cannot stop you leaving the best team you ever had."

Coulson interrupted before things could escalate: "That's agreed, then. Gentlemen, if you could kindly step outside, you'll find transportation to your chosen destination. Best of luck."

He turned back to the two remaining Avengers: "Now, there might be something for you... We might have an opportunity."

 

*

 

"Brucie, are we going to live here in Gotham, then?"

"I... I really need to be here, Tony. I hope it's not a deal-breaker?"

"No, no, you know I love this mad old town... but I'll need a workshop. And I need to go back to New York and get the bots."

"Go get the bots, they should be here for the wedding! I'll scare up a workshop, I'll get right on it. Just get back before tomorrow at dawn, OK? Don't leave me at the altar!"

 

*

 

Clint waited for Nat and Steve to emerge from Coulson's secret conference. He'd realised that there was one last thing he needed to do. He'd found a cricket bat, of all things. Hopefully it would be enough.

"Clint, what?"

"I need you to do it, Nat. Three fractures in my dominant arm, most of the knuckles, and a broken clavicle on my other arm should do it. A blow to my face, so that I lose sight in my left eye... but please leave the eye if you can."

Nat nodded grimly and accepted the bat.

Steve screamed: "Are you mad, Clint? Why?"

"Because the only way I will not come back is if I _cannot_ come back. Hawkeye dies here."

 

*

 

"Is everything ready, Alfred?"

"Everything is in place, Master Wayne. May I enquire on Mr Stark's whereabouts? I'd hate for him to be implicated."

"He's being welcomed very publicly in New York by Pepper and the press. I've sent Diana and Clark with him, incognito."

"Well done, Master Bruce. Let's begin."

 

*

 

Coulson put the two them on a stealth jet.

Nick Fury met them on arrival: "Captain, Widow, welcome back. I have Maximoff here already. We're about to embark on our most dangerous mission to date."

"Good to see you, sir. May I ask what we are about to face?"

"I got a tip from and old friend in MI6 - someone is playing with the super soldier serum."

"I'm sure we can take them, sir."

"...and they're in _Gotham._ "

Natasha suddenly went pale: "Are we sure about this, sir?"

"Time is of the essence, my contact was quite insistent on that. But I'm coming with you, this time. Let's go save the world, Avengers."

 

*

 

The four Avengers reached the warehouse in the abandoned port area. Batman watched them make their way inside, hidden in darkness on a roof beam.

He clicked a button on his belt, triggering a few servos. The doors slammed close. All windows were covered by slabs of concrete.

Romanov went still with terror.

He clicked another button, and four little darts found their way to their targets, while automated manacles descended from the ceiling.

Fury screamed. Maximoff wailed. 

Rogers flailed uncomprehendingly.

He clicked the last button, and the temperature started dropping. Ice and a cold wind filled the room. He dropped down, wings spread.

He remained in the shadows, but three pairs of eyes tracked him. Well, he might as well explain: "Stop struggling, you cannot break those vibranium bonds. You have all been injected with a Kryptonian reworking of the super soldier serum. Colonel Fury, sadly your dart had something extra, too"

"Who are you? I can't see!"

"Your remaining eye has been dissolved, Colonel. You'll be forever blind."

"Wanda, help! It's too cold, I hate the cold."

"I can't Steve, I can't!"

"Ms Maximoff, you've been additionally dosed with the cure for your mutation. Your powers are gone."

"Why, why are you doing this?"

He walked steadily towards his victims, batwings extended against the artificial wind.

"Do you know what is the punishment for traitors? In the last circle of hell those who have betrayed their benefactors lie in a frozen lake, fully encased in ice. They cannot even weep for their fate, for tears freeze on their face."

"Who are you?"

"I'm someone who cares to see justice done."

The cold steadily intensified. Four pods assembled around the Ex-Vengers, trapping them in their frozen state.

"You betrayed a man who opened his home to you, that fed, clothed, indulged you. Who gifted you with the fruits of his unstinting labour. Who granted you protection and assistance. Who worked to better the lives of all those around him. Who gave you his trust and his friendship. And you spat on all that, for your petty reasons and your pitiful little schemes. Or to chase the ghost of a long lost past. He was flesh and blood, he was real, he was there for you. This is a reckoning, and it has been long coming."

Romanov alone had the strength for a last question: "What's going to happen to us, now?"

"The extra serum will keep you conscious, you will not fade to sleep or stasis: you'll be frozen, and aware only of the slow passage of time. Someone might decide to release you one day, I care not."

The pods locked in. Batman walked up to frozen, perfectly awake Rogers and drop-kicked him and his ice-pod down flat. The sound echoed for a long time.

 

*

 

_Vexilla regis prodeunt inferni._

The Divine Comedy. Satan presiding over the damned in his bat-like wings. Traitors trapped in a frozen lake, awaiting the day of judgement. Alfred really was a cruel man.

And a man with a past. And contacts in the secret services of the world. And a flair for practical chemistry, and the friendship of a very helpful and ruthless Kryptonian sim. 

 

*

 

Later, a Pym Technologies truck came to load up the pods. 

Hank Pym himself was there for the unloading. Rogers would spend the rest of his days encased in ice, staring at a frozen and sleeping Bucky Barnes.

Howard Stark had been Hank's enemy. Nonetheless, that enemy had deserved better than being assassinated by a machine wearing the face of a friend. Maria Stark had been blameless and she definitely had deserved better than being caught in that dark world of spooks and secrets. 

Hank poured himself a glass of his best scotch and raised a toast to the old guard. They had done their part for the world. Now it was time for their kids to make their mark.

 

*

 

Jean smiled: "Quoting Star Trek, Professor?"

Charles Xavier blushed: "Well, it's my favourite movie, after all. And it needed to be done, Jean. We couldn't control that girl, and if she had escaped and gone after Stark we would not have had the means to stop a Registration Act. I needed to safeguard all the other mutant children, Jean. I'll shoulder the blame gladly if it spares them pain."

 

*

 

Coulson allowed himself a moment of regret for having sent his old friend and mentor into a trap. However, it had been necessary. One did non lightly cross Alfred Pennyworth in this business - and the Ex-Vengers had been expendable, in the end.

Getting himself together, he opened the file marked: "New Avengers, Potential Recruits".

 

*

 

Bruce took a long, warm shower. It was done.

 

*

 

Alfred drove them both to City Hall. No one was the bride, after all. 

In the back of the Cadillac, Tony turned towards Bruce and smiled: "You know, I almost can't believe we're about to get married, Brucie. I almost expected the Ex-Vengers to burst in and kidnap me for some mad scheme."

"Don't worry, Tony, I'm positive they won't bother you again. I feel they've learned their lesson, this time."

"Thanks babe. And anyway I have the world's finest superhero protecting me, I'll be fine."

"You know that Batman will always come for you, Tony."

"I meant Superman."

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo, comments? Too dark? Too pretentious? Too convoluted? Please let me know.
> 
> (This fic concludes the plot arc, such as it was. I plan to add a few outtakes fics with some of the prompts and suggestions you kindly left in the comments - but that will probably happen after the holidays! I'm off to the pool! Happy summer!)


End file.
